Committee to Protect Bloggers

4
Jan
Moroccan Blogger and Internet Cafe Owner jailed

When El Bachir Hazzam circulated information about the heavy handed crackdown on student protests in the village of Taghjijt (200 km south of Agadir) in Morocco he did so with the the intention of letting the Moroccan society know what was going on, this it seems was not the view of the Moroccan autorities who promptly arrested him and the owner of the cyber cafe he used to get online.

Hazzam was arrested on 7th December in relation to the protest but question revealed that the authorities also were interested in a September 2007 article he had written about the legislative process in Morocco.¬† He was given a four month sentence while the cyber cafe owner, Abdullah Boukfou was given a 12 month jail term.¬† Hazzam was charged with ‘?????spreading false information about human rights that undermined the kingdom’s image’ while Boukfou was charged with ‘being in possession of publications that incite racial hatred’.

To say that the charged are superfluous would be an understatement, these are just the cleverest of the what the Moroccan authorities could think of to get a conviction.¬† At CPB we recognize this as a pattern of lies that governments manufacture to silence online dissidents.

Hazzam has indicated that he will be appealing against the sentence and we wish him the best of luck.

Menassat has more on this.

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21
Apr
Moroccan Blogger, Hassan Barhoun get 10 months

Blogger and journalist, Hassan Barhoun has had his six months sentence extended to ten months on appeal.¬† Barhoun had been arrested for ‘spreading false news’ by publishing a petition signed by 60 people that accused the public prosecutor of collusion in a corruption case, he had been sentenced to six months but on appeal his sentence had four months added on to it.

Morocco’s online freedoms record is appaling to say the least and this only makes it worse.¬† It is noteworthy that instead of Barhoun being questioned over his article, the authority’s response was to thrown in jail and preffer trumped up charges on him.

Another thing is that during his court case defence lawyers were not even allowed to submit any pleadings, a fact that clearly shows that the court case was just a rubber stamp in this injustice.

CPB would like to ask the Moroccan authority to respect the freedom of speech as enshrined in the UN Declaration on Human Rights and release Barhoun and the other bloggers in custody immediately.

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6
Mar
Moroccan Blogger Under Indictment

According to the CPJ, Moroccan blogger Hassan Barhon “faces criminal defamation charges.” He was arrested on February 25 in the city of Tetouan for allegedly “defaming a prosecutor.”

Barhon regularly posts hundreds of photos and video reports on his blog and on popular photo and video hosting sites that chronicle alleged corruption and collusion with criminals by local and city government officials. Barhon’s detention is related to a petition he circulated that called Mohamed Masmouki, prosecutor-general for the king of Morocco at Tetouan’s court of appeals, a “dangerous criminal,” his lawyer, Habib Hajji, told CPJ. Scores of citizens, journalists, and rights activists signed the petition, which accused Masmouki of undermining “people’s sacred beliefs and the state institutions” and called for the need to put him on a “popular trial,” a group called the Moroccan Association of Bloggers said in a press release.

Various types of “defamation” are a popular quasi-legal avenue for the prosecution of bloggers and others who register opinions and do reporting that reveals those in authority in a poor light. Last February, Moroccan officials imprisoned Fouad Mourtada, a Facebook user who created a satirical social networking account for one of the country’s princelings.¬† He was later pardoned.

Mohamed Erraji was also arrested last September, hustled through to a conviction two days later, then acquitted.

Considered Barhon has been a consistent and vocal opponent of corruption in the kingdom’s judiciary, we are not so sanguine that he will also be released, but we hope so. Countries like Morocco should be grateful for the work of men like Barhon, who care enough about their country that they observe and report on those areas in which it could remake itself. They’re lucky to have them. Any country is lucky to have such citizens.

The CPB encourages its members to write to the King and request that these charges be immediately dropped. Here is the contact information for those members in the United States. If you would care to find and share the contact information for the Moroccan king in your country, please post it in the comments.

His Majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco
C/O His Excellency Aziz Mekouar, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco
to the United States of America
?1601 21st Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Via Fax: 202-265-0161

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18
Sep
Erraji Acquitted

Moroccan blogger Mohamed Erraji has been acquitted, according to RSF. (Thanks to @digiactive.) Erraji was arrested for criticizing the king in early September, he was hurried through a kangaroo court, sentenced to two years in prison and fined 5,000 dirhams, then released on bail on appeal, then acquitted.

The appeal court found that correct judicial procedure was violated. Erraji was arrested and charged on 4 September and his lawyer appeared before a court in his defence on 16 September, 12 days later. But article 72 of the press law requires a minimum of 15 days between the filing of charges and the first hearing in the trial.

The decision is heartening. The judges in the appeal court in Agadir showed matter-of-fact integrity, as they should have.

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11
Sep
Erraji Released

Mohamed Erraji has been released on bail, according to DigiActive.

The court of appeals ruled on Thursday that the lower court had failed to respect certain legal procedures under the Press and Publication Law. The public prosecutor’s office did not object to Erajji’s release.